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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 120 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  2. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  3. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  4. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  11. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  12. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  13. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  14. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  15. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. The ________________ took off on time.
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  23. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  24. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. drill — army training
  2. leaves — of a tree
  3. snap — to snap out of it
  4. race — humankind
  5. content — happy
  6. race — a contest
  7. band — a music group
  8. band — a ring
  9. race — the arms race
  10. snap — to click
  11. snap — to speak sharply
  12. drill — a practice
  13. band — a rubber band
  14. plane — in geometry
  15. plane — a tool
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. plane — an aircraft
  18. game — wild animals
  19. game — a match
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. content — the amount
  22. leaves — to go away
  23. drill — the tool
  24. leaves — lets stay

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com